Ear device adaptive liner

ABSTRACT

A liner type cap for use with ear operative devices. A support member is adapted to closely fit the wearer&#39;&#39;s head and has depending ear portions. The ear portions contain apertures which register with the ear operative device. A substantially tubular resilient band has one end circumferentially attached to the periphery of the ear portion aperture. When the liner is worn with the ear operative device, this tubular resilient band has an upper internal annular face which fits around and frictionally embraces the exterior surfaces of the device.

ilnited States Patent [191 White et al.

[ 1 May 8,1973

[54] EAR DEVICE ADAPTIVE LINER [75] Inventors: Robert F. White, Sturbridge; John F. Tavares, Dudley, both of Mass.; Bernard M. Gann, Baltimore, Md.

[73] Assignee: American Optical Corporation, Southbridge, Mass.

221 Filed: Dec. 23, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 211,186

[52] 11.8. CI ..2/205, 2/209 [51] Int. Cl. ..A42b 1/04 [58] Field of Search ..2/6, 203, 205, 209,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,588,914 6/1971 lhnat,Jr. ..2/3 1,010,248 11/1911 French ..2/209 1,558,191 10/1925 Lindemann ..2/209 UX 1,691,202 11/1928 La Van ..2/205 2,414,845 1/1947 Wulsin ..2/270 2,902,692 9/1959 Christy et a1. ..2/209 Primary Examiner-Jordan Franklin Assistant Examiner-Peter Nerbun AttorneyWilliam C. Nealon et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A liner type cap for use with car operative devices. A support member is adapted to closely fit the wearers head and has depending ear portions. The ear portions contain apertures which register with the ear operative device. A substantially tubular resilient band has one end circumferentially attached to the periphery of the ear portion aperture. When the liner is worn with the ear operative device, this tubular resilient band has an upper internal annular face which fits around and frictionally embraces the exterior surfaces of the device.

6 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures PATENTEU W INVENTORS ROBERT F. WHITE BERNARD M. GANN BY JON F. TAVARES EAR DEVICE ADAPTIVE LINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to safety helmet liners and more particularly to a novel means for supporting ear operative devices used in conjunction with the liner.

These helmets are constructed with a hard shell usually plastic or the like and normally are constructed to fit completely about the upper portion of the head.

. Within the shell is mounted a head suspension assembly which is secured to the inner surface of the shell at a plurality of spaced positions by a variety of different means. In order to provide additional protection from the elements for the wearer as well as additional means for attachment to the wearers head, various forms of helmet liners have been employed. The liners are normally attached to the suspension assembly or the inside surface of the helmet by straps provided about the head portion of the liner.

Frequently it is necessary that the helmets or the liners without the helmets be worn in combination with hearing protection devices or radio earphones. The burgeoning awareness of environmental noise and its deletarious effects upon humans has enhanced or increased the need for wearing of hearing protecting devices particularly in industrial applications where legislative mandates have been directed to such purpose. The problems attendant to the wearing of ear operative devices in combination with helmet liners is the principal area to which the present invention is directed.

Ear protectors and earphones generally constitute cup-shaped units fitting closely about the ear with at least one or more headbands for securing the devices in place on the wearers head. When using these cup devices with prior art liners, it is usually necessary that the headbands or clamping devices be removed from the cups before insertion into the retaining portion of the liner. This is principally due to the fact that the retaining portions are made such that the device must be inserted from the inside out and thusly, must be reconnected to the clamping devices after insertion into the liner. The same prior art liners tend to hold or fit the cup units on limited surface areas thereby permitting relative motion of the devices and the ear or head of the wearer. It is, therefore, an'object of this invention to provide a liner type cap for use with car operative devices which overcomes the problem associated with the prior art apparel. It is another object of the present invention to provide a liner ear operative device retaining member which closely fits around and frictionally embraces the exterior of the device. It is yet another object of the invention to provide an ear operative device retaining member which may be easily fitted to the device without removal of the liner or disassembly of the ear operative units.

SUMMARY OF THE lNVENTlON Commensurate with the foregoing objects, the present invention may be briefly described as contemplating a liner type cap for use with the ear operative devices. This liner comprises a support member adapted to fit closely about the wearer's head having depending ear portions in which apertures are located for registering with the devices. A substantially tubular resilient band has one end circumferentially attached to the aperture periphery. When this substantially tubular member is applied to the device, an upper internal annular face of the tubular member fits around and frictionally embraces the exterior surface of the device holding it in appropriate position.

For a better understanding of the present invention together with other and further objects thereof, reference is had to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a pictorial representation of a liner shown in combination with ear operative devices on the head of a wearer; and

FIG. 2 is a pictorial representation of the ear operative device retaining member in an unstressed position or state.

It is to be noted that these drawings and the em'bodiments hereinafter described are exemplary and therefore, not delimiting of the applicants invention. Thus, all those modifications readily apparent or obvious to one skilled in the art are to be considered within the scope of the applicants novel contribution.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1 there is shown a liner type cap as worn on the head of the user embodying the applicants invention. As shown, the liner closely fits the head of the wearer and may be worn with or without further head protective helmets. In many applications, the liner is worn as shown for protection against the elements and for appropriate retention of ear operative devices.

Support member or liner- 1 closely fits about the head of the wearer and acts to hold the entire liner in desired position. The ear depending portions 8 of the liner 1 shown as extending toward the chin or neck of the wearer in FIG. I, serve to further protect the individual and to provide the necessary retention members for the ear devices. Strap 2 is a typical strap member for attachment to a depending member of the support assembly of a protective helmet when the liner is worn in conjunction therewith. The button 3 is simply attachment means for the strap to the liner and may be modified to incorporate any other holding or attachment mechanism as desired. The chin strap member 4 acts to fasten the ear depending portions of the liner closely about the head of the wearer and to positively retain the liner in position. Chin strap member 4, in the embodiment shown, attaches to the depending ear member by means of plastic hooks and loops, i.e., the plastic material on the inside surface of the strap 4 is formed into a hook arrangement while a plastic material on the lower portion of the ear depending member 8 contains a hook so that'when pressed together a clasping or holding force or connection is established.

The ear operative device shown in FIG. 1 constitutes accoustical attentuation means. Cup device 6 is held closely against the head of the wearer and extends around and over the ear thereby shutting out all undesired audible frequencies. The strap member 7 completes the assembly and extends around the back of the head of the wearer and attaches to the corresponding cup device worn over the opposite ear. This member 7 serves to hold the device in the appropriate position on the head of the wearer but does permit some degree of movement. The device retention members are attached to depending ear portions 8 of liner 1. A complementary aperture is located in depending ear portions 8 about which periphery the proximal end of the retention members 5 are attached. The apertures of depending ear portions 8 register both with .the ears of the wearer and thusly, the ear protection device 6 so as to insure a close fitting retention of the device 6 about the ear thereby affording the desired protection.

Tubular retention members 5 of the present invention are in the form of an endless band or sleeve of stretchable material. As shown in FIG. 2, the tubular band or sleeve 5 of stretchable material has a top or distal annular surface 12 and a bottom or proximal annular surface 11. It can be made of any stretchable resilient material but is desirably made from a piece of stretchable knit tubing one end of which is folded inside the other and the registering edges stitched together. The stitched ends form the proximal end of the retention members 5 and are, in turn, stitched or appropriately attached to the periphery of the apertures located in ear depending portions of the liner. in the particular embodiment shown, retention members 5 comprise a one-piece interlocked rib knit of stretch yarn, seamless at its exterior. This particular form of retention member 5, while not limited to, is particularly adaptable to winter wear, where added protection in the area of the ear associated devices is necessary to the wearer. It must be emphasized that any form of retention member 5 may be employed which gives to the member an overall resiliency providing a close fitting and frictional embracement of the ear operative devices when placed on the head of the wearer. It will be noted in FIG. 2 that the proximal end of member 5 is made of a more open weave not having the stretch characteristics of that annular surface 12 thusly, providing a base or shoulder for attachment to the periphery of the complimentary aperture.

When used in actual application, the liner 1 may be placed on the 'head of the wearer and the ear cup device 6 inserted into retainer member 5. To accomplish this insertion, the distal edge of the annular surface 12 is stretched to encompass the largest diameter of the ear protection device 6 and thusly, placed about the cup unit 6 to its farthest extent. When the retention member 5 is released after insertion, the resiliency of the material causes it to closely fit about the outer surface and thereby provide a substantially uniform retention force frictionally embracing the entire unit. This insures a close fitting relationship between the ear protection device and the head of the wearer as well as protection from the elements and ease of assembly.

fitting closely around and frictional] embracing the devlces extenor surface. It can be urther seen that such retention member 5 provides added winter protection to the wearer and ease of use in combination with accoustical protection apparatus. The foregoing description of the exemplary embodiments of the applicants invention are intended to be illustrative and therefore all those modifications and changes readily apparent to those skilled in the art are considered to be within the scope of the applicants novel contribution.

We claim:

1. A liner type cap for use with ear operative devices comprising:

a support member adapted to fit the wearers head;

said cap including depending ear portions having apertures for registration with said ear operative devices; and substantially resiliently knitted tubular member having a distal end opening and a proximal end, means circumferentially attaching the proximal end of said tubular member to said aperture periphery, which member when applied to one of said ear operative devices has an internal annular surface fitting about and adapted to frictionally embrace said device exterior surface.

2. The liner of claim 1 wherein the distal end opening of said resilient member has a stressed opening dimension adapted to be greater than the maximum diameter of said ear operative device for external insertion of said ear operative device into said tubular member.

3. The liner of claim 2 wherein said resiliently knitted tubular member has one end folded inside the other for registration therewith, with said ends in registration forming said proximal end.

4. The liner of claim 3 wherein portions of the knitted tubular band adjacent to said end portions comprise a non-stretchable knit having a larger diameter than said distal end when in a non-stressed condition.

5. The liner of claim 4 wherein said resiliently knitted tubular band comprises a one-piece interlocked ribbed knit of stretch yarn having a seamless exterior.

6. The liner of claim 5 wherein said support member includes a strap member for attachment to an outer protective element, and said depending ear portions including a strap member for engaging the chin of the wearer to fasten said liner to the wearers head. 

1. A liner type cap for use with ear operative devices comprising: a support member adapted to fit the wearer''s head; said cap including depending ear portions having apertures for registration with said ear operative devices; and a substantially resiliently knitted tubular member having a distal end opening and a proximal end, means circumferentially attaching the proximal end of said tubular member to said aperture periphery, which member when applied to one of said ear operative devices has an internal annular surface fitting about and adapted to frictionally embrace said device exterior surface.
 2. The liner of claim 1 wherein the distal end opening of said resilient member has a stressed opening dimension adapted to be greater than the maximum diameter of said ear operative device for external insertion of said ear operative device into said tubular member.
 3. The liner of claim 2 wherein said resiliently knitted tubular member has one end folded inside the other for registration therewith, with said ends in registration forming said proximal end.
 4. The liner of claim 3 wherein portions of the knitted tubular band adjacent to said end portions comprise a non-stretchable knit having a larger diameter than said distal end when in a non-stressed condition.
 5. The liner of claim 4 wherein said resiliently knitted tubular band comprises a one-piece interlocked ribbed knit of stretch yarn having a seamless exterior.
 6. The liner of claim 5 wherein said support member includes a strap member for attachment to an outer protective element, and said depending ear portions including a strap member for engaging the chin of the wearer to fasten said liner to the wearer''s head. 